HELP A COMBAT VET – Why this site exists!

SgtBDA

Greetings!

My name is Gabriela and you can also call me G. I am the proud wife, best friend, and primary advocate for Brandon David Allen of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan – former Army Sgt. He is a decorated Iraqi combat Veteran who served honorably through two tours in Iraq. Brandon needs help with getting his freedom back, getting his VA benefits, getting properly diagnosed for symptoms that have gotten worse, connecting with his Army brothers, getting Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) support while in prison, and getting treatment for the physical injuries suffered on his tours in Iraq.

I’ve created this site to give Brandon back his identity as the Honorable Solider and Good Man that he is; as well as to help him with getting the assistance, representation, encouragement, support, and aid he will need for the rest of his life.

He is NOT a monster – he never was, but the powers that be made him out to be, and he was quickly and quietly buried alive in the Colorado Department of Corrections prison system.

From the beginning this otherwise honorable, hardworking, decorated soldier and well liked and respected Sgt. stated that he has no memory of the crime he committed. Yet nothing prudent was done on his behalf by his lawyer (or the Army) to help prove or understand his condition.  Instead Brandon (while suffering from PTSD, and his TBI’s) was seen as guilty and was tasked with having to prove his own innocence. Brandon’s family gave what they could for a proper defense but the lawyer that was hired DID NOT defend him…. DID NOT have his clients best interest at heart… DID NOT tell him the truth.. and in the end, Brandon was made an example of and is now serving a 20-to-life sentence in a Colorado State Prison. Without counsel –  Brandon did attempt to get help, answers, and justice but was denied due process by a partial judge and was denied the ability to present new evidence that pointed at another possibility called Lariam Toxicity (http://www.lariaminfo.org), but the judge threw it out.

In January of 2011 after serving several years in prison for this crime, we discovered that Brandon has a rather large cyst in the back of his brain where he struck his head in his first land mine blast. Evidence of his TBI since this type of cyst is common in head injuries and its rather large in size. This may be causing his severe and debilitating headaches, balance problems, vivid and sometimes violent nightmares, dizzy spells, nausea and random body jolts which he suffers from on a daily basis – but we are still waiting on the Colorado DOC to approve testing in order to find out. In the mean time, Brandon continues to suffer neurologically which makes life in prison even more dangerous than it already is, and THAT is not fair – on top of being cruel – on top of being WRONG!

Brandon does suffer complex PTSD so he already lives in a world of nightmares, flashbacks, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, anger fits, hyper vigilance, mood changes, sleep problems and has concentration and cognitive issues. Brandon also has a TBI, he has lost most of his hearing, is in constant lower back and knee pain from injuries sustained in a blasts and he’s getting worse. There is still a strong possibility that he does in fact suffer from Lariam Toxicity which would explain many of his other symptoms as well, but without the money to get properly assessed – he has to just suffer in silence.

I get how his claim of having no memory of his crime can quickly be seen as false – a lie – something a guilty person says to deflect responsibility… but like it or not, this is AMERICA people… INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY – Ring a Bell?

Our FREEDOM is sacred and should be fought for, but in Brandon’s case – I believe he simply did not have the money to buy his freedom – and in Colorado deep pockets get you far. How else does a Saudi national who sexually assaulted his Indonesian house keeper and kept her a virtual slave for 4 years go from getting a 28 year – to – life sentence only to be re-sentenced 6 years later to a 8 year sentence for “good behavior”?  When others with little to no resources sit for YEARS awaiting parole – after qualifying and meeting all requirements of release?

I work in the medical field and I live in the real world. I KNOW (from personal experience) that a simple bump on the head can have adverse and long term effects on the brain – so what do you think a blast might do to the brain? Better still how about many blasts?? Brandon survived several BLASTS, worked a combat zone for years, was given experimental drugs by the military, and was ignored when he asked for help… again and again. Do you honestly think getting your brain scrambled while still in your skull by a bomb’s blast and its sock wave, does no damage to the brain? If so please visit http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com to educate yourself.

In my humble opinion, it quite frankly think its not fair to Brandon as a Veteran and as a citizen of these United States – that he be in prison without being properly represented and diagnosed. Common sense dictates that when someone “claims” to have no memory of a crime, that tests should be run to determine if there is something truly wrong. And if it’s a Veteran making this claim, who served in combat, survived IED blasts, and had no criminal record or violent past – he or she – should be given EVERY OPPORTUNITY to keep the freedom they sacrificed so much for.

No tests were ever run… No innocence until proven guilty… The mere fact that Brandon was in several IED and land mine explosions should have drawn the attention of his attorney to get him properly assessed, and yet instead of helping Brandon, his lawyer deceived him, lied to him, and when Brandon realized what had happened and tried to get out of it – his lawyer lied to his face, delaying his withdrawal  which was later tossed out by a judge that felt the attorney was more credible.

I met this decorated Veteran and upon hearing his story and reading how he was portrayed in the media and treated by the judge and his own attorney – I stood up to stand for him and now I’m committed to helping him and other Veterans like him.

If you are asking yourself “Why didn’t the Army check him?” Good Question… That is what I wondered, and this is what I’ve learned. Our military simply DID NOT check our returning Vets thoroughly when they get home from the front lines. That changed in 2010. Furthermore, Soldier’s were (probably still are) DISCOURAGED from getting mental health help and are told how making such a complaint will hinder their career vs. just getting these soldiers the help they need. Back in 2004 and 2006 when OIF Vets were coming home from their tours in that ambiguous war – there was a big push by the military to downplay their issues and get soldiers back on the front-lines and that is exactly what happened. Brandon asked for help from his superiors several times at the urging of several family members after each tour. Each time he asked he was clearly told it would cost him his career to have a mental health file and he finally stopped asking for mental health help after being told by a superior to “Stop being a pussy” and to “get back to work”, which he did.

Like the majority of our Veterans, Brandon went back to work even though physically, mentally, and emotionally – he was in need of help. Brandon had already committed to a transfer when he was questioned by local authorities about the crime. He was arrested on base at Ft. Knox and since that day, Brandon has been treated more like an animal than the decorated Veteran he is.

For those of you who are not aware of the commitment these men make or simply don’t understand why a soldier would not push this issue, please read the Soldiers Creed. http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net/e2/rv5_downloads/values/soldierscreed.pdf

Brandon, his family, and I have been working with the Colorado Department of Corrections to try and get Brandon an EEG (which was ordered by a neurologist years ago); but due to the painstaking, long, drawn out processes the Colorado DOC has for obtaining proper medical treatment, we are STILL waiting for the approved EEG to actually take place. Until then, this decorated Veteran gets to play guinea pig while the medical providers guess as to what is causing all of his un-diagnosed symptoms. He was recently taken off anti-seizure medication that had been helping but apparently it cost too much. Still,  no test to prove that seizures are in fact the reason for his daily suffering. A few years back during a night terror he broke his hand punching a wall and awoke to it – but it took Colorado DOC almost 5 days to treat him. There is no PTSD support behind bars, there is no Veteran support there either. He has little to nothing and deserves more.

If you are interested in helping, even if just send him a letter to thank him for his service… PLEASE DO!

Brandon D. Allen #142805

Crowley County Correctional Facility

6564 Hwy 96

Olney Springs, CO 81062

Thank you for taking the time to read why this site exists.

Respectfully,

G